Tournament of Elements
by eemhp31
Summary: Warfang, the heart of the Dragon Realms, capital of Avalar. Decades of passed since the fall of Malefor, yet chaos continues to rage across the lands. In order to bring peace, King Spyro and Queen Cynder decided to hold a great tournament between dragons, which will decide the future Guardians. Many dragons from Avalar and beyond will enter, only eight will be chosen. [Submit OCS!]
1. Chapter 0 - Prolog

Chapter 0 - What Must happen.

It was an ugly thing. Always had been. And yet there was nothing he could do about it. A great purple dragon, covered in ropes of fine silk and decorated in jewels, sat before a mural larger than life torches lighting the otherwise dark hallway that morning.

It wasn't so much the mural that he hated, it was more what it depicted. The damn thing had been conceived and created when he and his mate had been elsewhere. It was so big, and considered such a pride of the palace, that by the time they found out about it, there was nothing they could do to get rid of it. Did not stop them from trying sometimes.

The purple dragon sat before a mural showing him and his mate fighting an army of dark creatures lead by the Dark Master. That was the worst not part. The worst part was that the Dark Master looked so outlandishly evil with all the spikes, dark-colored armor, grotesque body parts and for some reason body parts scattered around him (but none of them bloody or even real looking, just there).

Meanwhile, he and his mate stood alone. In a field. They were larger than a house. Plated in armor which looked like gold, gems, and whatever else looked shiny enough. Radiating some sort of light which was meant to look like holy energy or something. Oh, and their expressions looked like they had seen something so beneath them it was almost laughable.

It was one of the most _Unrealistic_ things ever created in their honor, it was ridiculous. And there was not a thing he could do. He blamed Sparx.

"Still trying to glare a hole through that Spirit awful thing I see."

The Purple dragon could not stop the smile at hearing that sweet voice. He never could even after all these decades. He turned his head to look at the black dragonness coming up next to him, she too wearing ropes of fine silk and decorated in jewels (which looked much better on her than him in his opinion). "I still swear I'll find a way to accidentally have this wall destroyed."

The female laughed lightly as she sat down next to him, "You've been saying that since they put it up over 20 years ago. You couldn't even get the kids to do it for you."

He snorted, "Not for lack of trying. But then when all else fails, blame Sparx."

Another laugh, "You and your brother. Sometimes I wonder who is supposed to be King, you or him!?"

He rolled his eyes, "Look who's talking ough Might Queen of Avalar, Didn't you and Ember spend all of last night having a water fight in the Royal bath?"

She poked him getting a small yipe for her effort as she responded, "I was having a bonding moment with Oberon and Exedra and you know it."

The purple dragon laughed for a quick moment before sighing.

There was silence for a good little while before she spoke up again, "There was another riot."

He sighed, "Calling it a riot would imply it lasted longer than an hour. Call it like it was Cynder, a group of criminals attacking a guard post."

"So you knew about it."

"Pool of Visions."

"Figured that was why you were glaring at the mural."

Silence again, "Spyro...we have to do something. Nothing is changing and in some places, it's only getting worse."

Spyro sighed, "I know...we can't be everywhere is the problem."

"You know the answer to that."

"I do. You also know why I don't want to."

"Spyro, you can't keep them in the nest forever."

"They are still too young."

"We were younger, and at war, and weaker, less trained, had less.."

Spyro's sigh was explosive, "I get it. I know."

The two of them sat there in silence. It went on long enough that they started to feel the suns rays reach through the hallway to both light and warm the place.

Finally, Spyro took a breath and said the words that needed to be said, "I'll talk to the scribes. Let them know to send out the notices. We'll hold the Tournament of Elements."

Cynder nogged her mate, "Hey, don't worry, they may not even win."

Spyro's laugh was explosive, "They're our kids. The chances of that almost none existent."

"Hey, don't ruin a mothers dream."

Spyro sighed and draped a wing over her. "Like I said, They're our kids. And like you said, we can't keep them in the nest forever. We'll see how ready they are."

Cynder leaned lightly on Spyro's shoulder, trying to ruin either of their apparel knowing from experience how much of pain it would be to fix it later. "I just wished we had more time to let them be carefree, but the realm is not waiting for us."

"Too true. Now shut up and let's both try and glare a hole through this damn wall." The silence was the only thing the two of them needed right now, knowing what was to come and what must happen next.

* * *

 **AN: Oh look, yet another new story! This one comes special, it is a sort of challenge sent to me by Gargantua Dragon (Fanfiction). A lot of this is still being fleshed out and so will be slower on the update than almost all the other stories. And much like my other Spyro Stories, I need OCs!**

 **The title says Tournament, and for that to happen I need a lot of characters of all eight elements. Some variations will be accepted, but try and keep to the point where it can be mistaken for the normal element as much as possible. Additionally, be aware this takes place a good few decades after the defeat of Malifor and a lot of the world building will take place as the story goes on. So keep that in mind as we go on. I don't want to spoil too much but I do need to work on it.**

 **Of course, like any story I have to have at least one disclaimer:**

 **Spyro and co. have their respective owners.**

 **Other characters mentioned throughout the story will also have their respective owners (Oberon and Exadra originated from Gargantua as will at least six other characters who will be seen).**

 **As this is only the opening, this is a short one. So until we meet again, Happy reading.**


	2. Chapter 1 - Warfang

Chapter 1: Warfang

The City of Warfang. An old city, one that has seen both good and bad times. When the Dark Master sieged it, the town was already at the lowest it has ever been. Many of its fighters had already been wounded before the fight had even started. By the end, they all were injured in some form, the cities defenses damaged to the breaking point, and the inner city put under threat by the Dark Golem.

It's well known that the now King and Queen were instrumental in preventing the city from falling completely. It's even known that the two of them have protected the city from any further significant attacks.

What is not as well known is who was the mind behind taking the broken defenses and turning them into the mighty fortress it is now, and is probably one of the only things the Queen ever thank the creature for.

Before the Legendary Couple even found their way back to the city after their great fight with the Dark Master, the town had already started it's reconstruction. They would forever say that their first sight of the repaired wall was the most uplifting sight they had seen in a long time.

Were once the City was exclusively out in the air, now it is also underground. Both the Main City and what was once called the Underground Ruins is used. The entrance, which was once used to ambush the Great Destroyer, now sits as the entrance to the main trade center of the great city, protected at both ends by ever-vigilant Guards and powerful magics.

Meanwhile, the city proper sits in three sections. The outermost part is the Farm Lands making up the Warfang Plains around the city. Where once a great army stood to destroy the city, now the largest producer of food. And while not considered by some to be apart of Warfang proper and instead of a mix of many Farming villages scattered nearby, it still is fiercely protected by the Defenders of Warfang as if it was the very walls of the city itself.

Just inside the Walls, the Outer City. A great mix of houses, industry, business. More than anywhere else, this is where the people of the city live and work. It's also the most heavily protected. It's walls and lands regularly patrolled, a guard never far away. The wall itself, reinforced, the entrance gates forever guarded, the anti-siege weapons lined in groups and untold numbers, with several varieties within each grouping.

Close to the center of the City is another wall, not as heavily fortified, but still well defended. This is the Inner City. This is where the mighty Shelters of Warfang reside. It is here the population run to whenever the city is being attacked. The Inner City is also where the government resides, not just for the town but for the entire kingdom of Avalar. It's where the culture of the land is stored and present. Several museums and galleries are scattered within this land. And close to the center, are three of the most prominent buildings to have been built in the last 30 years since the Fall of the Dark Master.

First to be built, was the Temple. A center of Learning for the best and brightest of the kingdom, not just for Magic but for all topics. It's large halls and great lecture rooms carefully constructed and decorated. At first, it served its purpose well. But now, it sits half empty as the Guardians who were once the most exceptional instructors of Magic have long succumbed to their great age.

The next to be built was initially called the Callosum, but quickly became known as the Training Grounds. Sponsored and built to the specifications of both the King and Queen, this sprawling complex of open-air obstacle courses, Enclosed training grounds of carefully controlled environments and scenarios, easily within reach of the ever occupied barracks, stables and other workshops for those learning. And finally, the many underground Instruction Rings, Dueling Platforms, and anything else needed to learn how to fight. At the "center" of the complex, if you take into account the underground portion, was the building that started it, the Callosum. A vast building able to fit countless creatures to watch any event that could be conceived, be it Parades, army formations, markets; if it could be thought of, this building could hold it.

Next to both of these carefully planned and constructed centers of importance, is the Palace. Well, at least the building that became it anyways. It started as a small one-story oversized courthouse used to try and provide some form of a central government. Before the Legendary Couple was even able to get back to the city, the building had expanded to include meeting rooms for private discussion, an archive to keep track of those discussions, several permanent offices for those needed to make sense of all of it and an infirmary.

None of this was built in wings or with any form of plan. As they needed the space, they created it. It was still one story and was already taking over several abandoned buildings next to it by the time Saviors of Warfang had returned. This turned the City Center, as it was called officially, into a maze of offices, courtyards, and random rooms full of tables, chairs, medical equipment, a personal armory at one point, and the occasional lost sentient who was starting to live in that maze. Even after ruling for a quarter of a century, and being in the finished palace, it's known that the King still gets lost in that maze and that the Queen refuses to go down to the first level of Palace without a chain of attendants to make sure she can get to and from her destination.

When the King and Queen were crowned, said "crowns" were all but forced into their heads that day and then promptly melted down into more pleasing, and frankly practical, jewelry that they could safely wear in and out of armor the next day (they have tried many times to straight up get rid of the things, but every blacksmith just smile and laugh at them when they try now). At the time, their soon be subjects had already started on a proper palace for them. How the two of them missed the fact that it was going to be a palace and not just a more massive more organized City Center will forever astound them, then again they were both more concentrated on that they were finally able to officially be a Mated Couple (said ceremony quickly be co-opted also be their crowning, both of them were pissed). The Old City Center, often referred to as the Governmental Maze, still makes up the bottom-most floor of the Palace. The Palace proper, which starts on the second floor, was not as well planned as the Training Grounds or the Temple simply because its plan was thrown together quickly and originally had the requirements of being able to live in it as the only real item. It would have been just a house above some government areas, and then someone remembered why they were building it. Thankfully while they had completed putting up the walls and the floor for the second story, they had not produced the rooms. This allowed them to quickly redesign the whole thing and create plans for a six-story monstrosity with each floor being designed as they got to them.

This created a Palace with the first floor, ground level, being where the everyday bureaucracy happens. The second floor, easily accessible, is considered the Public Side of the Place. Anyone can come up there; it's still heavily guarded despite this. It's where the King and Queen meet and greet anyone and everyone, even a few rarely used ballrooms. It's where they discuss things about the city; it's where the long term bureaucracy happens.

The Third Floor is the start of living accommodations. This is where dignitaries from other lands stay, have private meetings, or even relax before getting back into the mess downstairs. It's also where the Most Hated Mural in Existence (known as that thing to the family) is.

The Fourth Floor is where friends of the family stay, sometimes live for a time. And there is more than just living quarters. There are also dining rooms, the kitchens (for the entire palace), terraces, gardens, and so much more. It also has the claim as being the only floor bigger in floor space than almost the entire Palace. The first floor half-heartedly included because people swear that the thing changes every time they go in as rooms seem to pop in and out despite design plans saying otherwise. How the floor holds itself up in places despite the lack of support structure in areas, only the atlawa know, and they are not saying anything.

The Fifth and Six floors are wholly dedicated to "Royal Family." It's where the King, Queen, their most trusted attendants, and their whole family lives. They don't even take up the entire two floors. The Fifth is where the attendants and the handful of them that are "servants" move about. It's where the family eat, learn, plan, play, all-around live. The Sixth Floor, only the family, is allowed, not by decree of the King or Queen, but is enforced by the attendants and Royal Guard. This came after a few too many rants from one or the other about them "being able to dress themselves, they don't need to waited on every second of the day!" This floor is where they sleep and where their most private of living happens. There's also a decent-sized and custom-built and designed training ring to allow the entire family to experiment with their magic without fear of being interrupted if doing something especially sensitive. The whole of the Sixth floor is equivalent to a cozy single-story home any family could have, just with a couple of accommodations to help the place function.

At all levels, a dragon can fly into it; most do fly straight to the needed level when they first arrive. Despite being accessible in such a manner, the entire palace is still one of, if not the, most defended location in the city, if not the continent. While it is known that the King and Queen can more than handle themselves, and their kids could probably hold out long enough for help to arrive, the entire City Guard, or more accurately the entirety of the leadership of the kingdom refuses to let them go without some form of protection. Every entrance to the Palaces is either guarded or protected by powerful magic. The Royal Champers at the top is the only floor not directly guarded but is instead protected by magics designed by the King and Queen themselves, with some extras thrown in for "fun" from both the "court" magis and the now-deceased Guardians (the Royal Couple never did figure out who came up with the spell which would create the tentacle-horror if someone of certain mindsets tried to get onto the floor and were not read into the exemption list, but watching the stalkers try was sure funny the first few times, though the creepy grins the Guardians would sprout whenever they heard about the spell activating sure gave them ideas).

On most days, the city as a whole would operate peacefully. Work to do and ways to live. But suddenly, overnight, a notice was sent out. The King and Queen had decided while keeping the city of Warfang running was relatively easy as it was the center of their power; they were tired of the rest of the kingdom having issues. If something was wrong near the city, their forces, or even themselves, could quickly move in and take care of it. But, the further you went, the worse it got.

The planet never did fully recover from the Dark Wars. Much of the planet is still poisoned from the fighting, entire swaths of land abandoned. And from these lands came dark creatures who sought only chaos and destruction — the towns and villages near these lands under constant threat.

The threats are more than just random dark creatures. Desperate creatures roam the lands, attaching anyone and everyone they can to try and live. Some areas are worse than others.

Of anywhere on the planet, the Kingdom of Avalar is both the worst and best off. While they were the worst hit, they were also in the best position to recover. They had the land, the creatures, and knowledge. The Kingdom of Avalar is considered to be the most extensive realm on the planet. Their relationship with the different nations varies depending on what is going on, but one thing they all agree on, the entire world is a few steps away from anarchy outside of anyone's capital.

Each kingdom was using what resources they had to try and keep things intact, but the vaster the land, the hard it has become. To make it worse, some problems have been made worse by the corruption of bureaucracy in their local areas. And while some this is easy to deal with, those that can be trusted to not only deal with the situation but handle themselves when they encountered...difficulties. And it gets even worse when you take into account that these same people have to be able to handle the widespread magical anomalies, a job naturally associated with those that are a part of the Temple. But without guardians, no one can control the problems, let alone teach creatures to handle them. Only the King or Queen have been able to mitigate the issues, but they are just two dragons, and no matter how powerful or knowledge they are, being in multiple places at one time is still impossible.

This is why when overnight, the King and Queen decided they were going to do something. The entire city, while shocked, moved as one to be ready.

The City of Warfang was changing, especially within the inner city. The guards were shining their gear and cleaning up their areas. The Temple aired out long underused rooms. The Training Center cleared out underused buildings to be ready for the events to come. And the Palace, while typically busy, had suddenly become a madhouse as the bureaucracy worked none stop to not only prepared the palace itself but the entire city.

For once, in a very long time, the city was excited. And they weren't the only ones. The entire kingdom is, nay the whole continent, at the very least hopeful. The Tournament of Elements was coming, and a city that had been the center of change was about to do so again. A new generation of Guardians was to be decided and maybe with them, a new generation of leaders to help the King and Queen wrangle peace back into the land.

* * *

 **AN: Yes, I'm leaving it there. And yes, I know nothing happened in this chapter. I needed to create the damn city and some background. Yes, I could have done that through conversation. Yes, I probably could have done it in conjunction with the opening chapter. Yes, I probably could have continued this and put something actually plot-related. Sadly, doing any of that would have made it feel...wrong.**

 **I do hope you enjoy the lore presented; I'll be using it heavily in this story for where things happen. And no, that's not everything that is going on. Parts of the City will be explained as they become important, so no worries there. As for the world's issues, again, that will be described and expanded upon as it happens. A lot of this story is told in the perspective of Spyro, Cynder, and their kids, so what is written is what they know. I needed a place to start, and this chapter is it.**

 **The next chapter should start the actual "plot" but still be very much an intro to different characters that will play different parts in the story. While I will be "reusing" some of the characters that I've used before, just different origins and motivations, I will need more than just those characters. There will be a lot of throw-away characters, which means if people want, I got openings for cameos!**

 **If you want your character to be shown, please let me know. Just let me caveat requirements:**

 **-If in the tournament character must be between 16-30 years of age, no age limit for those not participating in the tournament (or those trying to participate)**

 **-All eight elements are open, with allowances for variants as long as it can be traced back to a single element, no multi-elements or combined element allowed. If you want a multi-element, they can still try, but they will be discovered. How can be discussed**

 **-The Fall of Malefor happened 32 years before the start of this story, so if you want a major/minor character keep that in mind for the backgrounds**

 **-Dragon is preferred, but if you have a character that is one of the rases shown in the games that meets the above requirements they can be entered**

 **-The more backstory, the better!**

 **Hopefully, the next chapter comes quicker than this one did. Until then, Happy Reading!**


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